Analysis Of A & P By John Updike

Updike's use of setting helps to contribute to the development of the theme of the story by making the reader understand the conformity of the society in which Sammy is yearning to escape. The story, “A&P”, takes place in the local A&P grocery store in the 1960s, a time in which it was abnormal to break free from the social norms of the

John Updike presents significant items to represent certain points in the story like the girls bathing suits, the herring snacks, and the sheep. When the girls walk into the A&P, they caused a disruption mainly because of what they were wearing, bathing suits. During that time, women were expected to be fully clothed when entering a store or else they drew attention to their sexuality, which Sammy noticed quickly. As everyone reacted to their bathing suits it later represented a kind of freedom to Sammy. After Lengal body shames them saying, “Girls, I don't want to argue with you. After this come in here with your shoulders covered. It's our policy” (Updike 20), it crushed Sammy’s freedom feeling, so he reacted. Sammy also feels the contrast between the girls and the sheep as they try to purchase

John Updlikes, “A&P” is a fictitious narrative that presents an insightful view on some facets of human nature. Our story takes place at an A&P grocery store in a small Massachusetts town. We are taken into the mind of our 19-year old narrator, Sammy, who quickly leaves behind his innocence as a carefree teenager to become a man, with a realistic understanding of being an adult. Throughout this story, Updlike, creates scenes where peoples idealistic views of themselves and social norms, shake the monotonous routine of the A&P. We are then able to observe the internal and external conflicts that the ideal self can create in the world around us. Updike, uses themes in “A&P” to reveal through a carefully selected cross-section of society, how

The girls, despite their obvious fashion faux-pas, carry themselves with a certain confidence and individuality that is rare in this society. Updike has Sammy refer to the other customers as sheep, pigs, house slaves, and even as having a fuselage- revealing how ‘empty’ these citizens are. The references to sheep are clear symbols for the conformity of the late 1950s and early 1960s. The trend (or revolution) towards non-conformity is quickly approaching as the three girls are leaders of this new movement.

As people age, maturity and wisdom is gained through every experiences. From the time a child turns eighteen and becomes an adult, they are required to deal with the realities of the real world and learn how to handle its responsibilities. In John Updike's short story, "A&P", the narrator Sammy, a young boy of nineteen, makes a major change to his life fueled by nothing more than his immaturity and desire to do what he wants and because of that, he has do deal with the consequences.

John Updike’s ‘A&P’, is about a young man’s struggle with morality, authority, and freedom. Through a series of events Sammy witnessed injustice in his workplace leading him to quit his job. When Sammy quit his job he was taking a stand against authority because he longed for freedom from the A&P and his manager. Sammy made the leap from an adolescent, knowing little about life, into a man facing the consequences from his actions. John Updike’s use of language and actions reveal the internal struggles and relationships of a young man growing into adulthood.

In John Updikes A&P, choices and consequences are portrayed as a fundamental and recurring theme throughout the story. Many can understand the idea of repercussions for specific decisions and actions, which makes this story very relatable to most audiences. The story encompasses numerous ideologies paramount to human development and philosophy. Dismantling the story can help depict underlain meanings and asses the ambiguous nature of humanity. The construct of A&P portrays Sammy’s journey through the societal establishment of rules and order, ultimately exposing the chain reaction repercussion of making difficult choices. Though many characters make choices throughout the story, Sammy is obliged to make

In “A&P”, John Updike uses compelling diction, language, and description to enhance the perspective of Sammy within the story and his final decision to quit his job. The use of imagery within the supermarket develops the environment Sammy worked in to a greater extent and painted diverse pictures of the customers. The derogatory descriptions of Lengel and some customers was also significant in terms of revealing Sammy’s emotions about his job at A&P. The nature of the situation with the girls and descriptive language of the customers and environment were also significant factors.A spontaneous effort to portray Sammy’s power and independence was a significant aspect Updike made more interesting by implementing dialogue, diction, and theme.

“A&P” and “Girl” both symbolized the protagonists’ oppression by an older, more experienced generation. However, Kincaid’s “Girl” was artistic with an undercurrent of selfless love and hope while Updike’s “A&P” was uninspiring with selfishness and lust. The protagonist of “Girl” discouraged her daughter’s dreams out of love. The protagonist of “A & P” encouraged the antagonists’ out of a selfish desire for self-promotion.

Sammy is stuck in that difficult transition between childhood and adulthood. He is a nineteen-year-old cashier at an A&P, the protagonist in a story with the same name. John Updike, the author of "A&P," writes from Sammy's point of view, making him not only the main character but also the first person narrator. The tone of the story is set by Sammy's attitude, which is nonchalant but frank--he calls things as he sees them. There is a hint of sarcasm in Sammy's thoughts, for he tends to make crude references to everything he observes. Updike uses this motif to develop the character of Sammy, as many of these references relate to the idea of "play."

Aditya Khanzode Mr. Davenport Language Arts - 0 28 November, 2016 A&P Argumentative Essay The short story “A&P” by John Updike is a story from a 19 year old's perspective named Sammy who is a cashier in a basic need shop A&P. The story begins with three young ladies coming into the shop wearing two piece bathing suits. Sammy watches them and depicts every last one of their characteristics and his conclusion about them. Before long, the ladies advance toward the cash register to look at where Sammy is standing.

In this “A&P”, Updike decides to write a story with a point of view of a young man. This short story may not be comparable to some masterpieces in short stories, but this story has its own uniqueness because of its simplicity. One drawback about the story is that when Updike starts “A&P” it doesn’t tell the readers what its going to be about, he goes straight into it, and it takes a while for the reader to understand what they are actually reading, but when they do, it is a very enjoyable for readers to read, even young readers will find fun to read.

Life is full with “Clark Kents”, too frightened to show the world “Superman”. “John Updike’s A&P”, takes a unique journey into the mind of a young man, searching for his own individuality and the difficult, yet necessary decisions that comes along with it. Many times in life we defer to taking the safe route, as opposed to taking the road less traveled, because naturally as humans we fear the unknown and or unanticipated. Furthermore, what complicates this dilemma is that we also fear living with regrets, and what should be a life filled with promise becomes a balancing act that ultimately paralyzes our own progression. Imagine what could be if mediocracy did not exist, change was readily embraced, and taking risk were expected.

Updike is degrading, de-romanticizing heroism, the actions of Sammy when he quit his job by setting the story during the 1960’s which is when people started abandoning the conservative approach to life and started expressing themselves more openly. An example of open expression is when Sammy quit his job or how the three girls walked into the A&P in nothing but bathing suits.

When everyone is young, they make silly mistakes. They don’t know what is right or wrong. Even adults make mistakes, but they take responsibility of the consequence. In the short story “A&P” by John Updike, the protagonist and the narrator, Sammy, takes childish action which take him out of the child and innocent bubble and brings himself to the adult world where he is responsible for his own actions. The story shows Sammy’s child-like thoughts and actions and punishes him for the action that he took, which brings him to the adulthood.